One week after arriving in Midland, Brad Golder is realizing just how exciting an endeavor he has joined.

"I go to the grocery store and I tell people that I'm going to be broadcasting for the Loons, and their eyes get big and they can't believe it," said Golder, who has been hired as the Great Lakes Loons' first radio play-by-play broadcaster and director of broadcasting and media relations.

Like Ernie Harwell many years before him, Golder is a young man from Georgia embarking on a baseball broadcasting career in Michigan.

He will make history as the first voice of the Class A Loons, broadcasting all 140 of the team's games on WYLZ-FM 100.9 (WHEELZ 101). Some games may be televised as well.

Golder, 25, said he understood he was selected from about 170 applicants.

"I really jumped at the opportunity," said Golder, who was the operations manager for the Atlanta Braves' radio broadcasts the past two seasons. "I know there were a lot of candidates for the job, but I think I showed them that I really wanted it, and wanted the opportunity to be a part of a brand-new tradition of baseball here in the Great Lakes area."

Golder will make his debut at the Loons' inaugural game on the evening of Thursday, April 5, when they visit the South Bend (Ind.) Silver Hawks. Before that, he will broadcast updates from the Los Angeles Dodgers' spring training in Vero Beach, Fla. The Loons are a Dodgers' affiliate.

Loons' President and General Manager Paul Barbeau and Loons' Assistant GM - Marketing and Promotions Chris Mundhenk were impressed with Golder when they met him at baseball's winter meetings in Orlando, Fla., early in December. They offered him the job before leaving Orlando.

"We wanted someone that was professional and enjoyable to listen to, and also someone that could handle the media relations portion of the job," Barbeau said. "Brad really fit that whole package and carried himself well, and was a good fit for us."

Barbeau hopes to see Golder work his way up the ranks to the major leagues.

"We want to help him be the first Loon in the major leagues, and have our fans look back and remember him when he was here," Barbeau said.

Golder said his major influences as a broadcaster are Braves' broadcasters Skip Caray, Pete Van Wieren, Don Sutton and Joe Simpson.

"And I was lucky enough to work with all four the past two seasons. … Hopefully I've learned something from them along the way," Golder said.

Golder also got to hang out with players he had followed for years as a Braves' fan growing up in Marietta, Ga.

"It's one of those things you kind of dream of your whole life - you're on a team charter plane with John Smoltz and Chipper Jones. It was kind of like living a dream," Golder said.

Golder said his style is to paint a picture of the action for the viewer without being overly dramatic.

"I like to think I'm conversational," he said. "I'm not going to sound like I'm doing a monster truck rally or anything like that. I think any excitement you hear from me is going to be legitimate. A base hit in the third inning is not going to sound like it's in the seventh game of the World Series.

"The way I'll talk to you when I see you at the barber shop is the same way I'll talk to you when I'm on the air," Golder continued. "I've heard that people want to hear a broadcast that sounds like two guys at a sports bar talking, and hopefully it's going to sound like I'm at a sports bar just talking about sports."

Golder also looks up to longtime Dodgers' broadcaster Vin Scully, ESPN's Dan Shulman, and Harwell, the Hall of Fame broadcaster who called Detroit Tigers' game for 42 years.

Golder said that he will broadcast the games by himself, but that some games may also feature a color commentator.

"We are still determining whether we want to hire a color commentator for home games, and there's still a possibility that some games will be televised," Golder said. "Any TV games we do will likely have a color commentator."

During the season, Golder will juggle his duties as a broadcaster and as director of media relations.

"That's the structure that a lot of minor league teams have, is that the broadcaster is also the director of media relations," he said. "It's a matter of juggling game (preparation) and making sure everyone in the media has what they need. So my game day's definitely going to be hectic."

Golder graduated from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., with a political science degree, and has also been the play-by-play broadcaster for the Class AAA Nashville Sounds.